20 Things You (Probably) didn't know about Back To The Future III

If the Back To The Future trilogy is to be taken as historically accurate, which of course only a truly insane person would do, we are at most 20 months away from the invention of the hoverboard.

Exciting stuff, but small fish compared to Doc Brown's eventual invention of a flying, time-travelling train that "runs on steam", as seen in Back To The Future Part III.

Whichever of the two you'd prefer to get your mitts on, you're in for a bit of a wait. So why not browse our 20 things you (probably) didn't know about the third instalment to kill all of, oooh, 10 minutes...

1.

The embroidery on Marty's outfit includes two symbols for atomic energy, on the upper chest, by the shoulders.

2.

When filming the scene where Marty is hanged from the court house by Mad Dog, Michael J Fox was accidentally genuinely hanged to the point of passing out. The film crew didn't realise, they just thought it was superb acting.

3.

Robert Zemeckis was given the idea of setting Back To The Future III in the old west by Michael J Fox when the director asked him, while shooting the first movie, what time period he'd most like to visit.

4.

Shooting BTTF parts II and III back-to-back was exhausting for Zemeckis. While he shot the train sequences in Sonora, Writer and Producer Bob Gale was in LA supervising the final dub of Part II. Zemeckis would wrap photography for the day and board a private plane to Burbank. He would oversee the reels completed that day and make changes. Afterwards, he would retire to the Sheraton Universal Hotel for the night. The following morning, at 4.30am, Zemeckis would drive to the Burbank Airport, board a flight back to the set in Northern California, and continue to shoot part III.

5.

Marty McFly throws a Frisbie pie plate at a derringer held by "Mad Dog" Tannen disturbing his attempt to shoot Doc. The Frisbie Pie Company's pans were thrown by kids in the way that modern day Frisbees are. They gave their name (via a spelling tweak to avoid trademark infringement) to the current Frisbee.

6.

The DeLorean used in the film is currently hung upside down on Planet Hollywood, Honolulu's, ceiling. Check it out here.

7.

Flea from Red Hot Chilli Peppers (pictured) plays Needles', but did you know that each of this henchmen that appear late in the film comes from one of the other gangs in the trilogy? J.J. Cohen appears in all 3 and played Skinhead in Biff's gang in Back to the Future and Back to the Future Part II. Ricky Dean Logan played Data in Griff's gang in Back to the Future Part II and Christopher Wynne played an unnamed member of Buford's gang in the third film.

8.

Doc tells Marty that his family, the Von Brauns, arrived in the USA in 1908, but changed their name to Brown as a result of World War I. Wernher Von Braun was a German scientist who is responsible for the design of the V2 Rocket of the Second World War, as well as assisting the Americans in their race to space in the 1950s.

9.

A scene in which Tannen kills Marshall Strickland was filmed but not included in the movie. It's a bonus scene in the 2002 DVD release and also occurred in the novelisation.

10.

The clothes that Doc wears in the final scene in the movie were modelled on the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz (pictured).

11.

The name on the manure wagon in 1885 reads "A. Jones". In Back to the Future, the name on the manure truck from 1955 reads "D. Jones", suggesting they could be related. Check them out here.

12.

M. R. Gale was the newspaper editor of the Hill Valley Telegraph in 1885 (Buford Tannen shot his predecessor). His name is considered a reference to the trilogy's writer Bob Gale (pictured) whose full name is Michael Robert Gale.

13.

Director of Photography Dean Cundey plays the photographer who takes Marty and Doc's picture. He also had tiny roles in Jurassic Park and The Flintstones.

14.

Universal Pictures selected Back to the Future Part III to feature its new 75th anniversary computer generated logo (pictured) for the first time.

According to the DVD commentary, writer Bob Gale had originally suggested that the studio should use the Universal logo from the 80s so that all three films would be consistent. But Universal executives wanted to use the new logo, guessing that BTTF III would be the studio's biggest film of the year. This logo was used for all Universal films between 1990 and 1997.

15.

The movie was shot under the working title of simply "Three".

16.

In an interview with Empire Bob Gale said: "In trying to figure out Part III, we decided that we’d done everything we could with Marty’s family, let’s concentrate on Doc and let’s do the most insane thing anyone could imagine — Doc Brown in love. In fact, Back To The Future III was Christopher Lloyd’s first onscreen kiss."

17.

Knowing that President Reagan was a fan of the series and was no longer President by 1989, Robert Zemeckis offered him the role of the 1885 mayor of Hill Valley. It would have been just one scene. Zemeckis called up Lew Wasserman, the chairman of Universal Studios, who had been Reagan's agent, and asked him to call Reagan to offer him the part. Reportedly, Reagan actually considered it, but turned it down.

18.

Jeffrey Weissman portrayed George McFly in Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III, after Crispin Glover declined. George McFly is not the only person portrayed by both Jeffrey Weissman and Crispin Glover. In the 1991 film The Doors, Glover played the role of artist Andy Warhol. Weissman played the role of Andy Warhol in a 2000 television movie, The 70s.

19.

When Marty arrives in 1885 to be faced by Indians on horseback, a jet contrail can be seen in the air, a mode of transport clearly not invented at that time. It's just below the middle of the sky in this picture.

20.

The scene when Marty goes into the saloon bar is an homage to the Clint Eastwood movie The Outlaw Josey Wales. Actor Matt Clark plays the bartender in both movies. In BTTF III Marty (aka Clint Eastwood) asks for water to drink and the bartender says they only serve whiskey. In Josey Wales (played by Clint Eastwood), Josey asks for whiskey to drink and the bartender tells him they don't have any whiskey.